I really don't like the site. When I first visit the site I have no idea what it is about. The first thing I see is "Writer's Beat: What shall we write today?". Then, "You are not logged in!". Then "Front Page" and "Forums" and finally "Attention Visitor: You have to register before you can post:". I still am unsure what the site is about, but apparently I have to register to use the site. I lose interest and I leave. There is nothing on the top portion of the page that explains why I would want to browse your site. If I cannot determine what the site is about right away, I'm not going to take the time to figure it out.
Design and background is nice. But sucesss of a site not only depends on these factors. Just confirm the visitor that what is the site about and also try to convince them clearly what is the objective of the site...
Too many of everything, it’s hard to find what you need. Green highlights with white text on them looks strange.
I like the site, but I think the tag cloud should be at the bottom and outta the way of content. Tag clouds are to support content ,they are NOT the content, in my humble opinion. As a short story fiction writer myself, I found the word "imagry" in the Oasis Writer feature to be a turn off. I would think a feature would be spellchecked better. Good layout overall, but I am not feeling the logo fitting the site's overall motif and style. I will be back to read some more of the stories.